Page 63 of Unbelievable You

It got later and I wondered when she was going to say she needed to go home. I wasn’t going to kick her out, if she was waiting for that. She’d be waiting forever. If she wanted to stay here, I’d make her a key tomorrow.

“Is it bad that I don’t really have any big career aspirations?” she asked me. It was cozy having Buck between us, but I wished her head was in my lap and I was playing with her hair. Only Eli had ever let me braid his hair when it was longer, and I hadn’t gotten in much practice other than on sports teams. Hunter had the kind of hair that begged to be braided and twirled and run through your fingers like strands of gold.

“No, I don’t think there’s anything bad about that. I’d bet you that a lot more people are pretending to have career aspirations than actually do. It seems more likely that people get into a job they can tolerate and just sort of talk themselves into pretending it’s what they had in mind for their lives. Like when you have to apply for a job and write a cover letter about how much you dream of working for XYZ company.” That had always seemed ridiculous to me. The company knew you were lying. The applicant knew they were lying. It was one big performance.

“Hmmm,” Hunter said, pondering. “You’re a really honest person, Stace.”

I grinned at her. “I know. It makes a lot of people uncomfortable. I’m lucky I’ve got a face that puts people at ease or else I’d be in real trouble.” Many, many times I’d been able to smile my way out of a tricky situation. It always made my parents sigh and roll their eyes.

“You should have been the lawyer then,” Hunter said, leaning her head against the back of the couch and smiling at me. Buck’s head was in her lap again as her fingers stroked a path between his ears.

“Definitely not for me. I think you have to be a bit more ruthless. Or able to put aside your personal feelings.”

Hunter snorted. “Or just don’t have any feelings for anyone but yourself.”

“Personal experience?” I knew both her parents were lawyers.

“Oh yeah.” And we were back to her parents again.

“I’m so tired of them taking up space in my life. They think because they’re family they get to claim me. Control me.” A lot of parents thought that way. Thankfully not mine.

“Have you ever considered going no contact?” I asked. That was something I’d wondered for a while.

“I mean, yes. But I don’t think I could. I can handle them in small doses. Those are fine. It’s when they demand more, and they always demand more. But this year for the holidays I’m going to put my foot down. I’ll do Thanksgiving and Christmas, but nothing else. I’m not going to yet another cocktail party where they shove me toward someone’s son and pretend that I’m someone that I’m not. It’s like…if they pretend that I’m the daughter they wanted that I’ll give up one day and they’ll win. Sorry. I know I keep saying the same thing on repeat.” She cringed and I gently moved Buck onto the floor. He was indignant, but I slid into the space he’d vacated and put my arm around Hunter.

“Come here,” I said, nudging her to get closer. After a moment of hesitation, she leaned her head on my shoulder.

“You’re so warm,” she said, leaning more into me. I’d love to pull her right onto my lap, but that would lead to other things that I’d already had to put the brakes on earlier.

Hunter exhaled a long breath. “If I stay like this I’m going to fall asleep.”

“Go ahead. I’m not on call tomorrow, but I might respond if they need me.” I had my regular shifts, but then if I wasn’t doing anything, I was also ready to go. It seemed like the right thing to do since I was unavailable a lot during the week and with family obligations, and it was a way to meet your minimum amount of calls for the year, not that I was ever in danger of not meeting that percentage. When I’d first started, I’d gone too hard and had to pull back. Now I was really strict with myself. It had taken some work.

“No, I can’t stay,” she said, patting my arm. I moved it and she got to her feet, yawning.

“Are you going to be good to drive home? I could call you a ride and bring your car over tomorrow.” I’d seen too many accidents where people thought they could drive home and crashed behind the wheel.

Hunter stretched her arms. “I’m fine, it’s not that far.”

She met my eyes and she must have seen something in them. “I can call a ride.”

“Thank you.”

Not that she couldn’t get in an accident in someone else’s car, but I wasn’t going to think about that.

The tension that had stretched between us after the kiss and the conversation on the couch returned and I didn’t know how to say goodnight to her.

Hunter put her shoes on and scrubbed Buck on his head before leaning down and giving him a little kiss, ducking away when he tried to swipe her face with his tongue.

“My ride will be here in two minutes,” she said, standing up.

“Okay,” I said, wanting to put my hands in my pockets or shuffle my feet or something.

“Tonight has been…something,” she said.

I let out a huff of a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.” Her hair was all mussed so I stroked a few strands off her forehead.

“I meant what I said, Hunter. I want to seduce you.” I watched the words hit her and savored her reaction. It never disappointed.

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